(Closed) Life was so much simpler as a kid….

Note that this post in completely random and something I just wanted to get out there and maybe get a little feedback from! =)

Making out the checks this morning to the electric company, land lord, car payment and the rest of the mile long list of bills, I had a sudden and completely random thought. In Michigan right now our leaves have for the most part changed and we are getting ready for the long, cold winter ahead of us. For most of us Michiganders, other then the excitement of the Holidays, we dread this season coming up. Suddenly this morning my mind traveled to 6th grade, 2nd hour math class. We were all silently doing our work until one of us noticed the first snowfall outside the window. You would of thought it was the first drop of snow we have ever seen. We all rushed to the window in ‘ohh and aww’ of what we saw. I remember how easily it was to be happy as a child. I loved coming home from school and smelling holiday cookies that my mom just made or the way it felt to wake up Christmas morning and look at the tree after Santa had come and gone. I really miss those days and I am trying to make it my personal goal this holiday season to find happiness in the smallest things like a child again.

Whats a favorite memory of yours as a child?? Is there anything that you look back on and realize how small it may have been but how exciting it was to you?? I’m so excited to hear these responses!!! =)

Easter morning! My parents (Dad) always hid real hard boiled eggs that we had decorated a day or two before. I have two older brothers and we would race around the main floor of the house trying to find all the eggs my dad had hidden. He was so smart and always thought of new and creative places to wedge an egg. The excitement of waiting to start the egg hunt, and then racing around for the obvious eggs, and then trying to outsmart my brothers to find the final eggs. And in the end we got a basket of candy- not a bad deal!

@MissFlipFlops: I totally hear you! SO and I were just talking about this yesterday. We have plenty of challenges in our lives and yesterday one of them was dealing with his extremely opinionated, political wing-nut brother…who used to be pretty normal. SO was just saying, life was so much easier when we were kids and everyone was little and everyone was happy.

For me, I associate fall/winter and childhood with building snow forts, sledding in our backyard, and putting on boots and snow pants for recess.

Awwww that’s so true. I overly romanticize winter at first too 😉 For a few minutes once a week I think about the first snowfall, baking cookies, hot apple cider, Christmas dinner, our annual Christmas party, watching movies in front of the fireplace on a snowy awful day…. And then I remember shoveling the driveway, clearing off our cars (no garage!!!), that coating of slush that gets onto the bottom of your pants, the nose that never stops running, and of course the mayhem of the mall in December! LOL!

My favourite winter memory as a kid is a family tradition we used to have. Every year we would all bundle up and drive out to a tree farm about an hour from our house. We would spend what felt like an eternity looking for the perfect tree, trunk not bent, no big bald spots, not too tall, not too short, and then my dad would lay down in the snow and cut it down. Then we’d find a smaller tree for my grandmother. We’d drag them back through the snow to the car and somehow shove them in the trunk with the tips hanging out. The guy at the check out would always give us candy canes. On the way home we’d stop at a local apple farm where we’d get hot apple cider, and then we’d stop at a chip (fries) truck and get thick cut homemade fries doused in vinegar and ketchup. I remember the steam of the fries and the apple cider warming up your hands and face as my sister and I huddled over it in the back of the car. It was the best day of the year. I hope one day we can create such a great annual tradition for our kids!

I recently accepted a job as a reporter/photographer for our small town newspaper. I often have to go to elementary schools to photograph events and it makes my heart ache a little, how much simpler things were back then. And I was always soo eager to grow up. Oh, life. You tricky asshole!

I also have a two-year-old daughter so I can relive all the exciting kiddie moments through her. Her 2nd bday was on Saturday and seeing how excited she was over balloons really made my day. =]

I ALWAYS think this and it sometimes makes me sad. I always think about playing with the neighborhood kids and just feeling free and like the world was ours. I loved playing outside for hours until it was dark and you would get called in for dinner.

I have to admit, I got a little sad when my nephew and stepson started school this year. I felt like telling them “The whole world is changing for you, no more playing all day, now you’re in for homework for the next 15-20 years.” So sad.

I don’t really feel this way, strangely enough. I’ve always wanted to be ‘in charge’ and I didnt’ actually acheive that until I graduated College and started supporting myself. Now that I’m married, it’s like heaven. This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life! We can stay up as late as we want, eat/drink what we want, go where we want, yes we work but it isn’t nearly as stressful as College was with deadlines, grades and social pressure. I love the adult life way better than any other stage even considering the responsibilities.

One of my favorite winter memories was in elementary school (I think 3rd grade?) – we were still living in Seattle, and this freak snowstorm blew in. The city (at least back then, don’t know about now) *sucked* at removing snow – basically they had no equipment at all – so we were stranded at school!!! We had to all gather in the lunchroom for dinner (which was a treat since me and my brother always had to bring brown-bag lunch) and then they had us all play games until they found a way to get us home.

About 9pm, they finally got some chains for a few buses and we were put on crowded busses by neighborhood. About 2 miles from our house, our bus slid going up a hill, hit a parked car (not a big accident) and got stuck on the hill. This woman who lived right there came out of her house, and once she saw it was a bus of little kids, she made fresh sugar cookies and hot chocolate for us until a tow truck could come for the bus.

Another bus came and we all loaded onto that bus, and finally we got home. It felt like SUCH a huge adventure we had just survived!!!!

The next day school was canceled and we made snowforts and played in the snow all day long.

Now when I see snow, all I can think of is how long its going to take to clean off my car, how I hope my feet don’t get wet, and what a nuisance having to haul a big coat and boots around is.

@moderndaisy: I agree with you there! I had to explain to DH once that when I was a little girl, I loved playing “grown ups”/house. Now that I am a grown up it’s like living my childhood play time every day! LOL! And you’re so right about staying up late, etc. I may have had left over chocolate birthday cake for breakfast this morning….. 😉

Christmas Eve was always extremely special to me as a child. Our family would go to Midnight Mass, I could open one present from my mother, and then I would leave milk and gingerbread cookies out for Santa and then try my best to sleep until morning!

I miss getting fun presents for Christmas. I was so easy to buy for, and all I needed was a Barbie, and I was happy. Last year, I got pajamas, toiletries, and a winter set. It was great and I appreciated the gifts, but I miss getting a CD or an awesome new toy that I’ve been wanting ‘forever’.

A few days ago, my husband and I were in a store and they had a Mulan doll. I remember turning to my husband and saying ‘I want it’. I absolutely adore Mulan and have always wanted a doll of her. I felt like a little kid again asking for a new toy. I was actually disappointed when we couldn’t get it.

Oh, and I miss those days before I was old enough to work where I could just sit around for hours and read. Now, I have time here and there, but I have other more important things to do like laundry, taking care of my daughter, or working on the novel I’ve been hired to write.

I was just telling DH about a CYO trip including a hay ride and hot chocolate by a fire that I took as a tween. It’s a nice fall memory and was also one of those times that you really feel excited to be able to spend time with boys without parents. I always loved fall…back to school shopping, apple picking. pumpkin decorating, candy apples, baking, sweater weather and thanksgiving.

Christmas and New Year’s Eve are my favorite memories growing up. I grew up in a predominantly Catholic country in Southeast Asia so Christmas and New Year’s Eve were spent at a late night mass. Everyone we knew was there along with their kids so it was fun sitting at the back with all the other kids trying to keep quiet about our shenanigans from the parents in front. After mass, we would partake of local seasonal food from street vendors then head home for a late night feast. The entire neighborhood did the same and after having dinner with family, we head over to a neighbor and eat their dinner then vice versa. It was so much fun! Plus it was the only time of the year we were allowed to stay up late as kids. For New Year’s Eve, we played with sparklers on the front yard while my parents put on a fireworks show for the neighborhood. Also during the holidays was when the local carnival came to town. It was the only time our parents let us roam and eat whatever we wanted without them in tow.

Thanks for posting this. I hadn’t thought about my childhood Christmas in decades. The traditions here are very different so my childhood traditions have gone by the wayside. It was nice to reminisce. 🙂